ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BCG: THE SEQUEL, 1991 – 2002

Compiled by Christine Tilley with contributions by Paul Burgess, Henny Fenwick, Don Freeman, John Hayward, Robert P. Langton, Caroline Moore, George Spears and John Thorpe.

This second part of the history of our group continues the story begun by George Wallace. The editor has brought together contributions from committee members, information from newsletters and reports, and personal recollections.

The new decade began with all the committee members established in their posts, but this was interrupted in a tragic way with the untimely death of one of our pioneering members. Dr Oliphant Jackson, MRCVS, Chairman of the BCG, died on 26th February 1991. Testudo of that year published tributes from colleagues describing him as "the father of reptilian medicine in this country", who built bridges between the veterinary profession and herpetologists to enable the successful treatment of exotics. The Oliphant Jackson Memorial Lecture entitled ‘Tortoise Life’ was given by Peter Pritchard at the Bristol Symposium in May 1992, where in fact Dr Jackson had delivered his own lecture on chelonian diseases in 1990 in typical hilarious style dressed as a red-footed tortoise. The Kay Gray Award went to him posthumously, and the rose bowl was received by his widow Elizabeth, also a vet, who is now an Honorary Member. The Oliphant Jackson Memorial Award was subsequently set up as a financial incentive whereby significant contributions to chelonian medicine are recognised, as a result of which a number of papers have been published in Testudo.

A new president and chairman

At the 1991 AGM Dr Ian Swingland was elected to the position of President, which had been vacant since Dr Peter Holt stood down in 1988. The Chairman’s post was filled by Dr June Chatfield, and that of Vice Chairman by Bob Langton. The committee was now entering a period of stability, with comparatively few changes, and only the post of PRO was unfilled for any length of time. As the events in this account are not in strictly chronological order, the reader should refer to Appendix I for changes in the committee. Committee meetings have been held at several venues over the years, chosen for their easy road and rail access, including Burnham Park hall, near Slough; the home of Penny Lindley (BCG Stock Officer) at Little Chalfont; and most recently, at the timbered Rectory Cottages meeting hall at Bletchley.

Fingerprinting of tortoises is introduced

Oliphant Jackson had been instrumental in contacting the Cambridge-based Conservation Research Group, who had pioneered a computer image system for identification of individual sea lions. Work was carried out on a large number of photographs of the plastron in several species of tortoise, and it was established that after six months of age these unique shell markings remain unchanged. High quality photos of tortoises over six months were marked with fixed points and fed into the computer. This enabled individual markings to be recognised as an aid to recovery of lost or stolen animals, as assistance to HM Customs and Excise, and as a tool for captive breeding programmes. The comparatively high cost of £4 per tortoise, to a maximum of £50 per application, may have been a deterrent and the uptake of the scheme was disappointing. This was also probably partly due to the increasing availability of microchip implants and scanners, though not everybody was in favour of the use of this technology in chelonia.

In 1999, an alternative scheme was suggested by the PRO, Paul Coleman. This took advantage of new technology whereby the plastron photo could be stored on CD-ROM. At the much lower cost of 75 pence per tortoise, many owners have used the new scheme. Tortoises were photographed at regional meetings to be added to the database, and a "Tortoise Passport" was also produced whereby a record could be kept of the animal’s health, Jackson Ratio etc. at each "weigh-in".

Animal theft co-ordinator appointed

In 1997, ex-policeman John Hayward became our theft co-ordinator. He deals with the National Theft Register, which assists zoos and animal societies in the recovery of lost or stolen exotic species. He has issued security guidelines to members, and has been instrumental in the recovery of many missing tortoises. Some of the lucky ones include five tortoises stolen from a garden in Hampshire: thanks to a newspaper appeal, two were recovered in rather dubious circumstances after a reward was offered, and the other three were spotted on sale outside a supermarket and returned to their owners. In another case, a leopard tortoise in Norfolk was accidentally scooped up by the bin men, but was recovered thanks to Mr Hayward’s swift intervention with the refuse collectors. His reports are now a regular feature of the Newsletter, and he has highlighted the importance of being able to identify tortoises by "fingerprinting" or microchipping, but is concerned about the effects of the latter on the smaller animals. He is always available by phone or e-mail (see website Contacts page).

The vexed question of microchipping

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), to which the UK became a party in 1976, was given official recognition in Europe when EC regulations were introduced in June 1997. This meant that commercial trade of all Annex A species, which includes Mediterranean tortoises, was banned, apart from certain exemptions for breeding and scientific research. These exemptions depended on the animals being identified by microchip implants. There was great concern about the health implications of this, especially for small tortoises, and approaches were made to the Department of the Environment. In September 1998, a meeting was held with government officials, with Henny Fenwick and John Hayward representing the BCG, Mike Jessop, MRCVS, from the BVZS, and representatives from other veterinary interests and tortoise groups. As a result, the regulations were changed so that microchips were not implanted into tortoises under 10 cm in length.

The BCG Library

Before he retired from the Librarian’s post in 1993, George Wallace painstakingly catalogued the contents of the library so that the books, journals, papers etc. were easily available to members. Caroline Moore then took on the post, and she has undertaken the mammoth task of computerising the ever-increasing catalogue. This has made it much easier to make amendments and search for a particular item. She has added many articles of interest from the newsletters that the BCG receives in exchanges, and the new listing shows how the journal and newsletter exchange has altered over the last ten years. There have been a number of books donated to the library, and reports of university expeditions studying the herpetofauna of various parts of the world. She is frequently asked for information on a certain species of tortoise, or to help a student with information on a project they are studying. She is constantly updating the catalogue and responding to requests for photocopies of articles.

The red-eared terrapin problem

In 1989, when thousands of imported red-ears were dying annually, and the survivors were causing problems both for their owners and for the environments in which they were being abandoned, a working party was set up with other animal welfare groups. Initially this consisted of Bob Langton, Peter Pook, Diana Scott and Clive Booth from the BCG, plus representatives from ASRA. At the AGM in 1991, the members passed the resolution "That the BCG should take all steps possible to influence the government, CITES and other responsible bodies to end forthwith the import of red-eared terrapins and their trade within the UK except under licence". The government eventually banned the import of this species in 1998.

To try and address the problem of unwanted terrapins, the BCG appeal for 1992 was for donations towards trying to set up a sanctuary in a zoo. Don Freeman was invited to take on the office of Director of the Red-eared Terrapin Project. Don and his wife, Angela, scoured the country looking for a suitable site on which to base the proposed RET Centre. There were many false starts, two of which were particularly notorious. At one establishment there was no adequate water supply, and water would have to be pumped a considerable distance from a river by the local fire brigade! At another, the management stated that "RETs are ideal animals because they derive their food from natural resources and need no looking after; furthermore if they die there are plenty more specimens out there to replace them with". Needless to say, both these sites were rejected.

Eventually, Sue Gallop and members of the South West region of the BCG, along with Deputy Director Paul Coleman, helped identify a promising site at Secret World, a wildlife sanctuary in Somerset. In the Spring of 1996, Pauline Kidner of Secret World offered the use of a large greenhouse in which to set up the project, now re-named the Red-eared Terrapin Education Centre (RETEC). Work commenced in the Autumn of 1996, and the centre was officially opened by Simon King, the wildlife film maker, on 7th June 1997.

The 50 or so rescued terrapins that had been transferred to Secret World were monitored regularly by Paul and Maggie Coleman. Paul was developing the BCG website, and he installed a web-cam overlooking the pool, whereby pictures of basking terrapins could be seen on the Internet. More recently, the terrapins have been monitored by members of the South West Region.

In 2000 the annual appeal raised a large sum towards another such facility, but efforts to liase with Birmingham City Council to build a terrapin pool at their Nature Centre have been unsuccessful. However, an exciting new development is the ‘Louisiana Project’, whereby terrapins needing new homes are being transported to a purpose-built lake in a link-up with the Carapax organisation in Tuscany. With the collaboration of Virgin Express Airlines and much national publicity, the first of many flights took place on 29th April, relocating unwanted terrapins from all over the country to a wonderful new location in Italy fed by warm springs. This undertaking has been an outstanding success.

The BCG and chelonia conservation

There are three aspects to the work of the BCG to fulfil its remit to promote the aims of chelonia conservation and research throughout the world. Firstly, and one which has enjoyed excellent support from the membership, is the annual appeal, the details of which are listed below. These were conservation projects where it was judged that a major injection of funds would do substantial good. During the 1990s the amounts raised gradually increased year on year until by the 2001 East Asian Turtle Appeal over £8,000 had been raised for that cause.

Secondly, the BCG made grants, to a maximum of £1,000 (but generally less) to expeditions, projects and individuals. These are too numerous to list, but the following examples give a flavour of the type of grants made:

1993

£500 to Care for the Wild for the tagging of Sri Lanka turtles.

1993

£250 to Dr Michael Klemens for conservation of the pancake tortoise.

1997

£500 to Prof John Cooper for maintaining the health of giant tortoises on Chanju Island.

£500 to Charles Darwin Research Station for the Galapagos giant tortoise tagging programme.

Thirdly, Bob Langton, the Conservation Officer since 1988, regularly airs chelonian conservation matters in the Newsletter, and encourages recipients of BCG grants to write pieces for the Newsletter and Testudo.

The annual appeals since 1990

1990

We raised funds for ‘Operation Curieuse’ when members donated £1,500 to the London Zoo’s project to relocate a breeding group of Aldabran giant tortoises to the island of Curieuse in the Seychelles. Two of them, ‘Adam and Eve’, were adopted by the BCG to assist the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles in their work breeding a species of tortoise which was previously thought to be extinct.

1991

£923 was raised to assist MEDASSET in their research into the effects of long-line fishing on the turtle population in the Ionian Sea.

1992

£2,200 was raised to help alleviate the problem of unwanted red-eared terrapins in the UK. This eventually resulted in the construction of the RETEC facility at Secret World.

1993

We raised £5,000 for Project Angonoka. With only 50 ploughshare tortoises left in the wild in Madagascar, urgent action was needed to save them from extinction, and the BCG’s appeal funds helped Jersey Zoo set up a captive breeding programme

1994/5

Over £6000 was raised for the Western Australia swamp tortoise (actually a river terrapin) to help the University of Western Australia, under the guidance of Dr Gerald Kuchling, rescue the species from the edge of extinction. We funded a comprehensive breeding programme and the purchase of radio-tracking equipment to monitor the animals released into the wild.

1996

It was the turn of the Madagascan flat-tailed tortoise, which was becoming rare. We raised £4,000 to help Jersey Zoo’s ‘Kapidolo’ project, financing the installation of equipment for captive breeding in a near-natural environment, and funding further study of this little-known tortoise in its native habitat.

1997

Re-re appeal raised £4,500. This big-headed side-necked turtle from Madagascar was losing its battle with habitat destruction and human consumption, and we helped fund captive breeding ponds in Ampijoroa.

1998

In a joint venture with the Galapagos Conservation Trust, we raised £7,359 towards building and equipping a laboratory on Isabela Island to support a captive breeding programme. With less than 15,000 Galapagos giant tortoises left, the need to re-stock the domed sub-species is now urgent.

1999

Our ‘Year of the Marine Turtle’, members contributed £6,000 towards many worthwhile causes to help the endangered sea turtles. For many years we have been funding expeditions and research, to help understand their habits and devise ways of protecting them from the activities of humans.

2000

We raised a total of £7,460 towards a second Red-eared Terrapin Education Centre. A location for this is still being sought.

Lastly, 2001 saw a magnificent total of over £8,200 collected for the endangered turtles of South-east Asia. Once again we linked up with Jersey Zoo, where a breeding facility has been set up for the flowerback turtle, and also with the Cuc-Phuong conservation project in Vietnam which is rescuing endangered species from illegal export.

The Northern Symposium

When John Thorpe and Jon Chaston set up the first Northern Symposium in 1995, the intention was to provide a high quality, easily accessible and affordable event for those members and others in this region and beyond who otherwise might not attend such an event due to distance and cost. Their confidence was rewarded when over 80 people packed the small lecture room at Blackpool Zoo (they had to turn down nearly 30 more on safety and capacity grounds). They felt encouraged and strengthened by the support of Henny Fenwick and Bob Langton, both of whom agreed to speak. Sadly, Bob was unable to attend, but his talk was read out. Jeremy Fletcher, MRCVS (our Veterinary Liaison Officer at the time) and Liz Watts, terrapin rescue specialist, rounded off the speaking team.

The venue changed to Chester Zoo’s lecture hall for the 1996 event, and an audience of 146 meant that they were able to donate £100 to the BCG’s appeal. The distinguished Sharon Redrobe, MRCVS, gave her first ever talk to a large non-veterinary audience, and rose to the occasion. In 1997, 86 delegates attended, and among the speakers was Dr Justin Gerlach, biologist with the Nature Protection Trust of the Seychelles. As a result of contacts made here, he was put in touch with Sir David Attenborough, who agreed to become Patron of the Trust – a great example of how ‘networking’ can have unexpected benefits.

For the 1998 event, they secured the services of Dr Peter Pritchard, the world authority on chelonia and a famous author – quite a ‘coup’ for two amateur organisers, and a real hit with the 140-strong audience. His relaxed style impressed everyone, and £200 was donated to that year’s appeal. In 1999, an audience of 115 heard, among others, Anne Wilson, an animal communicator and therapist; Stuart McArthur, MRCVS, now our Veterinary Liaison Officer; and a colleague from the world of reptile and avian virology, Sally Drury, MRCVS.

The sixth event, in 2000, treated 102 delegates to a programme which included Geoff Conner, CITES officer with HM Customs and Excise, vets Aidan Raftery and Michelle Barrows, and Dr Justin Gerlach. A surprise item was a video made specially for us on St Helena, on ‘Jonathan’ the giant tortoise; much effort went into procuring this, and thanks are due to all concerned. John Thorpe then received a Certificate of Merit for twenty years’ service to chelonia with the BCG – a proud moment after a busy and rewarding day.

The 2001 event drew an audience of 69, and speakers included John Hoare, MRCVS, on homeopathy; Dr Michael Lambert on his work with sulcata tortoises; and Professor and Mrs Cooper, with entertaining tales of their overseas work with chelonia and the legal aspects of this. A poignant surprise item came from famous author Ivor Noel-Hume, who kindly sent a set of slides and an audio tape documenting his and his late wife’s work in the early days of serious tortoise husbandry. He also donated a copy of their book which set many people on the chelonia path.

As well as organising this symposium annually, the Northern Region has a ‘weigh-in’ every spring and autumn with the co-operation of Wilkinson’s store in Bury, and in 2001 held extra ones at different venues with the help of a specialist vet and a local Countryside Warden Service. Other regions are also very active – for example, the East Midlands (Leicester) who hold regular ‘weigh-ins’ and organise stalls at various shows such as Stoneleigh; the South West, with similar activities including the Bath and West Show; and the West Midlands (see later).

The Bristol Symposium

This has taken place every year since the early days, and throughout the 1990’s up to the present day Dr June Chatfield has arranged the varied and interesting programmes, in conjunction with Dr David Hill of the Department of Continuing Education at Bristol University.

March 1991 saw the third symposium in a series on the theme of ‘Towards a better understanding of chelonia’, this time ‘Meeting their conservation needs’. In 1992 the Oliphant Jackson Memorial Lecture, already described, began the programme of talks. In 1993 there were two further such lectures. The third Edward Elkan Memorial Lecture (given periodically at herpetological meetings) was presented by Peer Zwart on the subject of reptilian diseases, and the Dr R.N. Smith memorial lecture was given by Frederic L. Frye on the role of veterinary surgeons in the biology and care of chelonians.

"Tortoises, terrapins and turtles: their conservation" was the theme for the 1994 symposium, with papers on projects around the world. Last minute changes dogged the 1995 event, but June Chatfield came to the rescue to complete the programme with an unusual talk comparing ‘The snail, the tortoise and the hedgehog’. A display of shells, skeletons and mounted preserved dissections from the Dick Smith Collection in the Veterinary School and Zoology Department were featured on this occasion.

In April 1996 the theme was the husbandry of aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial chelonia. Roger Poland’s presentation on ‘Euroturtle’ introduced the delegates to an exciting new web-site. The April 1997 theme of ‘Chelonia and people’ saw a wide range of material presented, showing what Man does both for, against and with chelonians.

In March 1998 delegates enjoyed the theme of ‘Tortoises, terrapins and turtles: assessing health of individuals and populations’. This wide-ranging theme covered overseas populations on both land and sea, and veterinary aspects in captive populations. In April 1999 the theme of ‘Chelonia around the world’ ranged from Madagascar to Australia to the Galapagos.

The symposium of April 2000 contained a varied programme, including presentations on the microchipping of tortoises and on EC regulations, reflecting current concerns. The account of a BCG trip to the Seychelles gave us a flavour of the excursions that have been organised by the group in recent years. Another mixed programme in 2001 featured more current topics including ‘Aspects of security in chelonia’ and ‘A focus on viruses’.

Most recently, in March 2002, the programme covered several conservation projects in which the BCG is directly involved. The speakers also included Henny Fenwick, who discussed hibernation, and who over the years has given talks to members as far apart as Blackpool and Devon, at both symposia and regional meetings.

This was to be the last symposium arranged by June Chatfield, after many years of organising the event.

More BCG events for members have taken place in recent years. The first overseas trip was to the Galapagos in 1997, the party being led by Dr Ian Swingland. The trip to the Seychelles in October 1999, which was led by Dr Justin Gerlach, has already been mentioned. In 1999, June Chatfield arranged a visit to the Cole Museum of Zoology in Reading, to observe the chelonian specimens. Prior to this she had also arranged visits to the Gilbert White Museum at Selbourne (of Timothy the tortoise fame). In 2001 a group of delegates attended the International Congress on the Genus Testudo at Hyeres in southern France, taking in a trip to the Village des Tortues at Gonfaron. The excursion for 2002 was to CARAPAX in Tuscany in September.

Many events and visits also take place around the Regions, as shown by the following account by George Spears.

The West Midlands Region

In 1987, a breakaway group split the BCG, and also the West Midlands Region. Martin Brooks, who was Regional Treasurer, took on the task of reorganising the region and formed a new committee, the members of which were: Martin Brooks (Chairman), George Spears (Treasurer), Barbara Spears (Secretary), Rachel Pockett, Pauline Morgan-Grey, and Geoff and Ann Duckworth. It was agreed that a meeting would be arranged for the Spring of 1988, at Birmingham Nature Centre, for members of the public to bring their tortoises for a health check. These health checks have continued, becoming twice yearly from 1990. A programme of special meetings was embarked on for members in 1988, a notable one being in August when Henny Fenwick talked about the work of SOPTOM. As a result the Region sponsored five tortoises there!

In 1990, Rachel and Pauline retired and Paul and Maggie Coleman were elected to the committee and took on the running of the health checks. The social meetings have continued two or three times a year, with illustrated talks by vets (including Oliphant Jackson, Peter Holt, Robin Bone and Mike Jessop) and conservationists, on all aspects of chelonia, normally attracting about 40 members. A high point of Summer 1996 was a meeting on 21st July with Don Reid from the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, and Julian Fitter from the Galapagos Islands Preservation Trust, addressing more than 60 members. The Chairman, Bob Langton, made a surprise presentation of a cheque for £1,500 for the Angonoka fund to an overcome Don Reid.

Visits have been made to Cotswold Wildlife Park, Twycross Zoo, and Drayton Manor Park and Zoo, with tours conducted by the Head Keepers. Fund raising has been most successful, with substantial donations being made to annual appeals, and the Region now sponsors Cohuila box turtles at the Birmingham Nature Centre.

BCG publications

Henny Fenwick has been in the demanding post of Newsletter Editor continuously since 1985. The March/April 2000 issue (No.134) saw the introduction of an illustrated front cover, showing the Millennium plate that was specially commissioned by the BCG as a collector’s item for sale to members. Another milestone was November/December 2001 (No.144) which was Henny’s 100th edition. Now that we have around 2,000 members the task of mailing the newsletter is a mammoth one, and six times a year Henny’s team of Pat Allen and family, Jackie Stevens and Angela Yaffey achieve this in one day.

The publication of Testudo continued under the editorship of June Chatfield until 1996, when she handed over to Anne Saunders. At this point she compiled a comprehensive index for inclusion in Vol.4 No.3. During Anne’s time as Editor, colour illustrations were considered, but the cost proved to be high and the committee decided it would be preferable to spend the money on chelonia. After producing the 2000 issue (Vol.5 No.2) Anne handed over to the present Editor.

TV publicity was earned for the BCG by junior members Simon Burgess and Sarah Newell, who appeared on BBC Television’s Blue Peter in November 2000. In a short but informative slot, they helped vet Joe Inglis show how to prepare their Horsfield’s tortoises for hibernation. Then in December 2000, Diana Scott, the BCG Secretary, appeared on the BBC’s daytime Crimewatch programme. After an appeal for the return of some stolen tortoises, she demonstrated ‘fingerprinting’ and identification. This was swiftly followed by a call to John Hayward’s office, resulting in the recovery of the tortoises. Most recently, the airlift of red-eared terrapins by Virgin Express to Italy has received widespread publicity on local TV and radio and in the national press.

On the World Wide Web

In 1996, committee member Paul Coleman pioneered the establishment of the BCG on the Internet, and e-mail addresses were soon set up. Paul, who was to become PRO in 1998, worked on developing the website until it contained over 300 pages. This included the photographs of the late Sidney Bailey, who had donated his collection to the BCG, so members with Internet access could see colour pictures of numerous species. In addition, the progress of RETEC at Secret World was monitored, and care sheets were added, plus other husbandry advice and articles from Testudo. Finally, on-line Visa facilities were added for purchase of membership and BCG goods, with the collaboration of the Treasurer, Maggie Coleman. In July 2002, the management of the website was handed over to Simon Madle.

As Treasurer, Maggie had also introduced Deed of Covenant, swiftly superseded by Gift Aid, as a means of raising extra funds through tax concessions. Her final innovation before relinquishing the post was to set up a Direct Debit facility, making life easier both for the Membership Secretary and for new and continuing members. Her post was taken over in July 2002 by Christine Briggs.

Conclusion

We were honoured in March 2001 by Professor David Bellamy, OBE, becoming Patron of the BCG. At a meeting of the Galapagos Conservation Trust at the Geographical Society in London, attended by several of our committee members, he agreed to support the work we do for chelonia. As a distinguished conservationist with wide ranging interests, his campaigns have specifically included the prevention of unscrupulous development in Turkey that would have destroyed a beach used by nesting turtles. With the support of our generous and expanding membership, and the work of our volunteer committee and regional groups, we can continue to improve the lives of tortoises, terrapins and turtles here in Britain and around the world.